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A crazy 4th-and-20 conversion led to Armand Robinson’s 33-yard touchdown catch with 33 seconds remaining, as the Miami- Ohio RedHawks snuck past the 24th-ranked Northern Illinois Huskies, 26-21, in the Mid-American Conference Championship game at Ford Field.
Trailing by one, 21-20, the RedHawks (9-4) took over at their own 48 with 2:48 left. Two incomplete passes and a sack set up a 4th-and-20. Austin Boucher’s pass hit off the hands of a Northern Illinois defender and fell into the hands of Miami-Ohio wide receiver Chris Givens for a 31-yard gain. Two plays later, Boucher received heavy pressure, but was able to hit a wide open Robinson over the middle, and Robinson sprinted into the end zone for the go- ahead score. The score stood at 26-21 after the two-point conversion failed.
The Huskies (10-3) got the ball to the RedHawks’ 32, but Chandler Harnish was tripped up as time expired to give Miami-Ohio its first MAC championship title since 2003.
It appears as though Miami of Ohio, winners of only one game a year ago, is back. On Friday night, the RedHawks overcame a number of mistakes to engineer a miraculous drive against Northern Illinois and win the MAC championship.
Miami quarterback Austin Boucher, who was a backup only weeks ago, completed 29 of 46 passes for 333 yards. However, it's unclear how much credit he deserves for his biggest pass of the game. Within the final two minutes, Miami was down, 21-20. After Boucher was sacked to give them a fourth-and-20 situation, Boucher's throw bounced off a Northern Illinois defender's hands, and Chris Givens was there to make the grab and secure the first down.
Boucher then connected with Armand Robinson, who had a monster night with 176 yards receiving, for the game-winning touchdown with 33 seconds left. Upon taking possession, Northern Illinois threatened to answer back with a score of their own in the final seconds, and after a string of quick completions, quarterback Chandler Harnish snapped the ball in Miami territory. With five seconds left, though, he was forced out of the pocket and didn't even get off the pass before taking the game-ending sack.
This is a huge achievement for the RedHawks, as well as coach Michael Haywood, who in two seasons has changed Miami from a 1-11 team into a conference champion.
In Friday night's MAC championship, No. 24 Northern Illinois managed to re-claim the lead over Miami of Ohio in the opening moments of the fourth quarter. Quarterback Chandler Harnish threw his third touchdown of the evening, and the Huskies now hold a 21-20 lead.
It was the fifth lead change of the game -- after Northern Illinois opened the second half with a 14-13 lead, Miami broke through with a one-yard touchdown run from Thomas Merriwether. The underdog RedHawks had another chance to score minutes later, when they found themselves at Northern Illinois' five-yard line, but they suffered yet another kicking-relatated misadventure when they elected to call a fake field goal. The blocking fell apart and the attempt failed.
In spite of the gaffes, this is still a tight contest. Northern Illinois has the ball with approximately 12:30 remaining. Stay tuned to this StoryStream for further updates.
At halftime on Friday night, No. 24 Northern Illinois clings to a 14-13 lead over Miami of Ohio. Most didn't expect the unranked RedHawks to mount such stiff competition, but they only trail by virtue of the woes of their kicking game.
The first half ended rather comically. With seconds remaining in the second quarter, Miami quarterback Austin Boucher found Chris Givens near the sideline of Northern Illinois' 25-yard line. It appeared as though Givens made his way out of bounds, but the officials apparently ruled that he was stopped by forward progress, which kept the clock running. Upon realizing this, Boucher and company hustled to the line of scrimmage to spike the ball.
Problem: it was a fourth down, and it generally isn't a good idea to spike the ball on a fourth down. Second problem: Miami didn't need to spike the ball, because they had a time out. Solution: wide receiver Armand Robinson, apparently the only RedHawk to understand what was happening, quickly called a time-out himself just before the ball was spiked.
Unfortunately, the resultant field goal was blocked, and Miami entered the locker room trailing 14-13. Earlier in the game, kicker Trevor Cook missed a PAT.
After a back-and-forth first quarter, neither team scored in the second. Miami is set to receive the ball to open the second half. Stay tuned to this StoryStream for updates.
During Friday night's Mid-American Conference Championship, the scoring is coming early and often, as No. 24 Northern Illinois leads Miami (OH) at the start of the second quarter, 14-13. Receiver Martel Moore was the star of the first quarter, as he ran both of his receptions in for touchdowns.
Thanks in part to Moore, Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish already has 129 passing yards. His first touchdown pass was a 69-yarder on only the third play of the drive.
Miami quarterback Austin Boucher, meanwhile, was perfect in the first quarter, completing all six of his passing attempts for 64 yards. The RedHawks' offensive attack has been balanced by running back Thomas Merriwether, who has managed 79 yards and a touchdown on only five carries.
The PAT after Miami's first touchdown was blocked by Northern Illinois, allowing for the Huskies' one-point lead to enter the second quarter. Miami now has the ball. Stay tuned to this StoryStream for further updates.
SB Nation's Red And Black Attack celebrates a special group of Huskies that have led the team to a conference championship berth:
The no-name defense of constantly rotating players has made this team the extra sort of special. Sure, they give up the big play now and then, but they also make the big plays on their own with a +9 turnover ratio on the season, the best since 2003 when the Huskies were +14. This is all with Tracy Wilson hampered most of the season with an injury. DEs Jake Coffman and Sean Progar lead a productive defensive line. All three linebackers are in the top-4 in terms of tackles. CB Chris Smith has been a man among men in the secondary.
"Put up 30 and we'll take care of the rest" has been the mantra. And they're still getting better.
Just the assortment of talent and the fresh bodies on the field at all times make this team exciting. Spann could have a career day, but so could Tommy Davis or Akeem Daniels or Jordan Lynch. You never know. And Miami doesn't know either.
SB Nation's MAC blog, Hustle Belt, examines the obvious mismatch between Northern Illinois and Miami (OH) heading into tonight's conference championship game:
Here's the funny thing about championships: they are always billed as epic bouts between two great teams. The problem is ... there's only one great team scheduled to play tonight.
As exemplified in their ranking, No. 24/25 NIU has a better offense than Miami. By far. NIU has the better defense. The better lines. The better special teams. The better coaches. The two-touchdown spread is absolutely correct, other than the fact that it could get much, much worse. You could see a 30-point blowout here. Or maybe I'm being too generous.
Oh, wait, was I supposed to hype this game up so that everybody tunes in and comments like madcats during tonight's live blog? Sorry, I forgot what my role was for a second. (Although please do that.)
But we've fallen into this pit trap before.
(Sports Network) This incredible run for Northern Illinois continues to get better, as the team was recently place in the Top 25 for the first time since 2003. However, coach Jerry Kill realizes why it is a great honor, his team must also be focus on the task at hand and that is winning the MAC title game.
"It's good for our school and good for our football program, and this Friday we'll see if we're worthy of it," Kill said. "We've done a nice job, so far, but those are the key words - so far."
The Huskies are definitely worthy of the 24th spot in the rankings, having won 10 of their 12 matchups, including a nine-game winning streak, which the team carries in this contest. NIU finished the regular season a perfect 8-0 in league action, earning a spot in this matchup for the first time since 2005, and with one more win NIU will claim this league's top achievement for the first time since 1983.
As for the RedHawks, they have flown under the radar all season, and where not really even in the discussion for the division title, as most believed it would come down to either Ohio or Temple. However, Miami-Ohio played its game and won its last four matchups. The RedHawks closed out its regular season with a 23-3 victory over Temple, but for the team from Oxford to get to this point they still needed Ohio to loss to Kent State, and that is exactly what happened, pushing Miami-Ohio into its first league title game since 2007.
The series between the Huskies and RedHawks is currently knotted at seven games apiece, but Northern Illinois has dominated Miami-Ohio over the past few seasons, winning five consecutive matchups, including a 27-22 decision this past season.
The Huskies set a school-record for points scored in a year and a large reason for that is because the team tallied 65, 59 and 71 over its last three games. In the 71-point effort against Eastern Michigan, the Huskies used their ground game, as the team rumbled for 544 yards and eight touchdowns. Since the Huskies were on cruise control there were a few players that saw more action than they are used to seeing, such as Jordan Lynch, who led the ground game with 142 yards and two scores. Jasmin Hopkins added 104 yards and one scores, while backup quarterback DeMarcus Grady rumbled for 91 yards and two scores as well. As for Chad Spann, the team's best running back, he rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries. Chandler Harnish, the team's starting quarterback, he finished with 101 yards and two scores through the air. The Huskies have relied heavily on the run throughout the season, so they have not needed Harnish to lead the way, but still the signal caller has managed to throw for 17 touchdowns, while tossing only five interceptions. He has also added 761 yards and five mores scored on the ground for NIU, which as a team is averaging 279.2 ypg via the run. Leading the way has been Spann, who has rumbled for 1,239 yards, while scoring 20 of the team's 38 rushing TDs.
Since the offense controlled the ball for a little under 40 minutes against Eastern Michigan, the defense did not spend much time on the field, but when called to duty this unit answered, allowing just three points to the Eagles, while holding the much weaker opponent to just 160 total yards. This unit has done a terrific job throughout the season, and is currently holding opponents to just 18.5 ppg. NIU did surrender over 100 rushing yards to Eastern Michigan, and if there is one weak spot for this defense it is in that area, as opponents are churning out 133.2 ypg against this unit, while also scoring 13 touchdowns on the ground against the Huskies.
The RedHawks needed to win the last time they were on the field, and did just that, beating Temple by 20 points. The offense, which has been erratic at times this year, pulverized the Owls on the ground, rushing for 253 yards on 6.7 yards per attempt. Thomas Merriweather had one of his better games on the season, pouncing on Temple for 182 yards on just 22 carries. Austin Boucher, who is still filling in for the injured Zac Dysert, was able to manage the game well, throwing for 155 yards, and even tossed two touchdowns. It is unlikely Dysert (13 touchdowns, 12 interceptions) will be on the field Friday, so Boucher will have to continue to perform well in these pressure contests. He will benefit from having the receiving tandem of Armand Robinson and Nick Harwell. The two wideouts have combined for 128 receptions, 1,624 yards and 10 touchdowns. However, what would really make Boucher comfortable is continued success from the ground game, but that might be asking too much. Miami-Ohio is posting just 96.6 ypg on the ground, and although Merriweather came close to totaling 200 yards against Temple, the tailback has tallied just 736 yards and eight scores in 12 games.
In the biggest game of the season, the RedHawks stepped up not only offensively, but also put forth an impressive defensive showing against Temple. Granted, the Owls were without their best offensive weapon in Bernard Pierce, but they were still a force without him, but not against Miami-Ohio, which held the Owls to just 70 rushing yards on 2.5 ypc. The defense also did a solid job against the pass, holding Temple to just 145 yards, while collecting two interceptions. Miami-Ohio forced four turnovers in the win, and also limited the Owls to only 2-of-13 on third down attempts. Making big plays have been a key to the success of this unit, which is allowing 23.6 ppg. Miami-Ohio has collected 29 takeaways on the season, while recording 29 sacks as well. The RedHawks are only allowing 123.8 ypg on 3.9 yards per carry this year, but this will without question be their toughest test against the run.
Miami-Ohio continues to defy the odds each and every week, so it is tough to count the RedHawks out in the biggest game of the season. However, when it comes down to it, the Huskies are just too good, and should be able to finish what they started back in September.
Connect with Northern Illinois fans at SB Nation's Red And Black Attack.
Miami-Ohio 26, No. 24 Northern Illinois 21: 'Miami Football Is Proof You Are Stupid'
SB Nation’s own The Hustle Belt covers all thing MAC. So you can imagine they have some thoughts on Miami (OH)’s monumental upset of Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship game Friday night.
The win truly was a spectacular one for the program for the simple reason that the Redhawks shouldn’t even have stood a chance.
Dec 04 12:53a by Sean Keeley - 0 comments